Foldable toilet support

ABSTRACT

A foldable toilet support includes a pair of arms and a horizontal rack. A connecting pole is connected to the middle portion of each arm at one side thereof. The horizontal rack is pivotably connected to the arms via the connecting poles. The opposite unfixed side of the horizontal rack is secured with the arms at opposite side thereof to control the movement of the arms. The foldable toilet support of the present invention is fully foldable thereby greatly reducing occupying space thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to toilet supports, and particularly to afoldable toilet support.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

Referring to FIGS. 8-9, a conventional toilet for handicapped personscomprises a toilet support 20 and a commode 10 seated on the toiletsupport 20. The height of the commode 10 is adjustable to fit thehandicaped persons by adjusting the toilet support 20.

Conventionally, supporting beams of the toilet support 20 are joinedtogether by welding (as shown in FIG. 8) which results in the toiletsupport 20 ocuppying a large space in conveyance. The packaging cost istherefore increased. In order to reduce the conveyance cost, thesupporting beams of the toilet support 20 are joined together by screws(as shown in FIG. 9). However, using screws causes assembly anddisassembly of the toilet support 20 to be complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a foldabletoilet support which is conveniently assembled and disassembled forreducing conveyance cost thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable toiletsupport of which arms and a horizontal rack are joined by a pivotableconnecting pole so that the arms and the horizontal rack are pivotableto fold relative to each other thereby reducing volume thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a foldabletoilet support which includes a horizontal rack having tie-ins and armsengaging with the tie-ins thereby preventing the arms from moving forforming a stationary toilet support.

To achieve the above-mentioned objects, a toilet support in accordancewith the present invention comprises a pair of arms and a horizontalrack connected between the arms for supporting a commode thereon. Eachof the arms comprises a converted U-shaped main body, a pair ofretractable sleeves, a connecting pole, a positioning ring, a beam and ahand gripping part. A tube is installed at one end of the connectingpole in a radial direction thereof. Positioning hoodles are mounted inthe connecting pole adjacent the tube. The beam is connected between twovertical rods of the main body. The tube is positioned on the main bodyby the positioning ring cooperating with the beam. The hand grippingpart is attached to a horizontal rod of the main body. The pair ofsleeves is mounted to the bottom ends of the vertical rods of the mainbody. The horizontal rack comprises a pair of parallel valves and abracket fixedly connected between the valves. One valve defines a slotat bottoms of opposite ends thereof. A pair of tie-ins is installed atopposite ends of the other valve. The valve with the slot is engagedwith the connecting pole and the hoodle of the connecting pole isreceived in the slot to allow the horizontal rack to be pivotablebetween the arms within a limited angle, and the tie-ins of thehorizontal rack are secured with the other one of the vertical rods ofthe main body.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present inventionwill be drawn from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the present invention together with the attached drawings,in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an assembled view of a foldable toilet support in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an asssembled view of the foldable toilet support of FIG. 1with a commode seated thereon;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the foldable toilet support of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the assembled foldable toiletsupport;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of one portion of the assembledfoldable toilet support;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of another portion of the assembledfoldable toilet support;

FIG. 7 is a sketch view showing the spporting rack at a folded position;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a commode and a conventional toiletsupport being assembled by welding; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a toilet and a conventional toiletsupport being assembled by screws.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, a foldable toilet support in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a pair of arms 1and a horizontal rack 2 for supporting a commode 3 thereon.

Referring also to FIG. 3, the arm 1 comprises a converted U-shaped mainbody 11, a pair of retractable sleeves 12, a connecting pole 13, apositioning ring 14, a beam 15 and a hand gripping part 16. A pair oflocating hoodles 111 is respectively installed in bottom ends of twovertical rods of the main body 11 for securing the sleeves 12 to themain body 11. The retractable sleeves 12 defines a plurality of spacedholes 121. A tube 131 is secured at one end of the connecting pole 13.The inner diameter of the tube 131 is slightly larger than the outerdiameter of the vertical rods of the main body 11. A locating hoodle 132is installed at one end of the connecting pole 13 adjacent the tube 131.After the positioning ring 14 and the tube 131 of the connecting pole 13are sequentially attached to the main body 11, the beam 15 is secured tothe vertical rods of the main body 11 by screws. The connecting pole 13is positioned at the vertical rods of the main body 11 by the ring 14cooperating with the beam 15. The hand gripping part 16 is attached tothe horizontal rod of the main body 11. The pair of retractable sleeves12 is then mounted to the bottom ends of the vertical rods of the mainbody 11 (as shown in FIG. 4). The arm 1 is thus assembled.

The rack 2 comprises a pair of parallel valves 21 and a bracket 22connected between the valves 21. The inner diameter of the valve 21 fitsthe outer diameter of the connecting pole 13. A pair of slots 211 isdefined at the bottom portions of opposite ends of one of the valves 21.The width of the slot 211 corresponds to the hoodle 132 of theconnecting pole 13. A pair of tie-ins 212 each with an opened-groove isinstalled at opposite ends of the other valve 21.

The valve 21 with slots 211 is attached to the connecting pole 13 andthe locating hoodle 132 is received in the slot 211. Thus, the rack 2 ispivotable between the pair of arms 1 within a limited angle (as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6). The valve 21 with the tie-ins 212 is attached to theother vertical rods of the main bodies 11. Thus, the foldable toiletsupport is assembled.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 7, in storing and shipping the foldable toiletsupport, the tie-ins 212 of the rack 2 is moved upwardly to disengagefrom the main body 1 to allow the rack 2 to be pivotable about theconnecting pole 13 between the pair of arms 11. The arms 11 located atopposite sides of the rack 2 are pivotable to overlay on opposite sidesof the rack 2. Thus, the space that the foldable toilet support occupiesis greatly reduced, which facilitates to store and ship the foldabletoilet support and reduces the packaging cost.

Furthermore, in the foldable toilet support described above, the usingof the retractable sleeves 12 causes the height of the foldable toiletsupport to be adjustable to fit the user. The retractable sleeves 12 areconnected to the arms 1 via the hoodles 111 engaging with thecorresponding locating holes 121 of the retractable sleeves 12. Inassembly and disassembly, no additional tool is required whichsimplifies the process of assembly and disassembly.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the commode 3 is seated on the bracket 22 forusing, a backrest 4 is configured. The backrest 4 is for supporting thecover 31 of the toilet 3. The backrest 4 is attached to a predeterminedposition of the arms 1 (as shown in FIG. 3) via papilionaceous screws 41which facilitates operation by hand. Thus, the foldable toilet supportof the present invention meets the object of the present invention thatthe foldable toilet support can be readily assembled and disassembledwithout using of a tool. Therefore, in addition to reduce the packagingcost, the foldable toilet support of the present invention has anotheradvantage, i.e., simplifying the process of assembly and disassembly.

It is understood that the invention may be embodied in other formswithout departing from the spirit thereof. Thus, the present examplesand embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative andnot restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the detailsgiven therein.

1. A foldable toilet support comprising: a pair of arms; and ahorizontal rack connected between the arms; wherein each of the armscomprises a converted U-shaped main body, a pair of retractable sleeves,a connecting pole, a positioning ring, a beam and a hand gripping part,a tube is installed at one end of the connecting pole in a radialdirection thereof, positioning hoodles are mounted in the connectingpole adjacent the tube, the beam is connected between two vertical rodsof the main body, the tube is positioned on the main body by thepositioning ring cooperating with the beam, the hand gripping part isattached to a horizontal rod of the main body, and the pair of sleevesis mounted to the bottom ends of the vertical rods of the main body;wherein the horizontal rack comprises a pair of parallel valves and abracket fixedly connected between the valves, one valve defines a slotat bottoms of opposite ends thereof, and a pair of tie-ins is installedat opposite ends of the other valve; and wherein the valve with the slotis engaged with the connecting pole and the hoodle of the connectingpole is received in the slot to allow the horizontal rack to bepivotable between the arms within a limited angle, and the tie-ins ofthe horizontal rack are secured with the other one of the vertical rodsof the main body.
 2. The foldable toilet support as described in claim1, wherein locating hoodles are installed at bottom portions of thevertical rods of the main body.
 3. The foldable toilet support asdescribed in claim 1, wherein the retractable sleeve defines a pluralityof spaced locating holes.
 4. The foldable toilet support as described inclaim 1, wherein the inner diameter of the tube is slightly larger thanthe outer diameter of the vertical rod.
 5. The foldable toilet supportas described in claim 1, wherein the inner diameter of the valve fitsthe diameter of the connecting pole.
 6. The foldable toilet support asdescribed in claim 1, wherein the width of the slot fits the hoodle. 7.The foldable toilet support as described in claim 1, wherein a backrestis attached to the upper portion of the main bodies by papilionaceousscrews.